Lodi's Field and Fair Day to return

Friday

Aug 22, 2014 at 9:00 PM

Ryan JonesRecord Staff Writer

LODI – Families flocked to Field and Fair Day in the 1980s and ’90s, raising money that would help fund Hutchins Street Square, Lodi’s community center at the site of the original Lodi High School, which burned down in 1974.

The fair was founded in 1980 and ran for 17 years, losing some luster after Hutchins Street Square was completed. To mark the 100-year anniversary of Lodi High School’s founding, the fair was brought back last year as Labor Day Lodi.

Because that event was a success, despite being publicized largely through word of mouth only, it’s back Sept. 1 with a few tweaks.

“What we kept hearing (last year) was, ‘It’s Field and Fair Day, and what about the pancake breakfast?’ ’’ said Meghan Lange, the head of the event’s organizing committee. “So we brought back both.”

The family-focused event on the Hutchins Street Square grounds will feature free carnival games for children along with activities such as face painting, foot races and jump houses.

“We had to embrace what worked last year,” Lange said. “It’s very family- and kid-oriented.”

Food trucks will be at the fair, and beer and wine will be available for adults. There also will be an entertainment stage with performances such as a science demonstration by the World of Wonders Science Museum. There will be K-9 and SWAT team demonstrations from police, and the Lodi Fire Department will have a firetruck on the grounds.

A hot-air balloon ride for two will initiate the day’s festivities at 6:30 a.m. as a tribute to the first run of Field and Fair Day, when up to a dozen hot-air balloons would launch from the square. Raffle tickets are $20 for a chance at the balloon ride (Thursday is the deadline to purchase tickets).

Festivities run until 2 p.m., with the pancake breakfast at 7 a.m. Information can be found at the event’s Facebook page and FieldFairDay.com.

“A lot of the people who used to come as kids now have kids of their own,” Lange said. “They’re really excited that it’s back.”